Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You're all fabulous.

Welcome back to the "bad choices were made" timeline. This conversation takes place about an hour after the last one ended in this timeline.

Conversation 6: Conversations with Tony Potts

Boss Tony: According to Friday, this is your phone number. Strangely enough, it was never assigned to another member.

Counselor Laura: Apparently, you still have the phone number of my Tony since the address book is showing it as the usual contact for him even though Friday said you had a non-Avenger phone number. Congratulations, it only took you an hour.

Boss Tony: I was distracted by children. It was grilled cheese time.

Counselor Laura: I understand. Also, as long as I'm here in 2023, I'm changing the contact to Tony Potts.

Tony Potts: Good choice. Should I be concerned that you know me well enough to recognize who I am from about three paragraphs of rambling? Also, the fact you know me well enough to know that I want to know if our Fitz and your Fitz can hang out is unnerving. How many science-fiction marathons have we watched together?

Counselor Laura: A lot. I figured it out when you referred to Steve as an asshole. You still call him an asshole on a regular basis, but usually as "my asshole." Honestly, I think it's one of your litany of pet names.

Counselor Laura: Well, not your litany, but rather my Tony's litany of pet names. He's also partial to Cuddle Bunny, Capt. Tight Pants, Sugar muffin, and Nomad.

Counselor Laura: BTW the Fitz that came from this timeline we call Leo so we can tell them apart, which is why I'm calling you Tony Potts.

Tony Potts: One of those seems very different than the others. Although I can definitely see Capt. Tight Pants. He has America's ass. And it's only gotten better over the years. Also, I think I would add DILF to that now.

Counselor Laura: I try not to question my Tony and Steve's relationship. Which from this point forward, I will refer to as the Stark-Rogers. It's too headache-inducing.

Counselor Laura: To answer your question from before, the Stark-Rogers started talking again because, one night after getting completely wasted, that Tony texted Steve.

Counselor Laura: Yes, with the god-awful flip phone that Steve gave him and you just kept texting, and apparently, you're much better at texting each other than talking in person. Eventually, you became friends and then more than friends or rather that's what happened with the Stark-Rogers.

Tony Potts: That flip phone was ridiculous. I still have it somewhere, though.

Counselor Laura: That Tony and Steve shouldn't have kept talking to each other because it was a ridiculous security risk. Coulson was covering for them because he was a closet Stony shipper. Amusingly enough, Tony Stark-Rogers had Friday covering them up with porn. Jim was not amused when he ended up the new director of Shield.

Tony Potts: That is something I would do to mess with Ross. So you come from a world that's vastly different because unlike my Friday, his Friday actually sent those messages?

Tony Potts: Also, my Jim never ended up at S.H.I.E.L.D., but that would've been brilliant.

Counselor Laura: Yes. It was your idea, actually.

Tony Potts: That makes sense. You don't want to know what I said to Stevie after Thanos. I think I just made it worse. I would like to blame it on the nearly dying due to starvation, but I know better. I can be a dick sometimes.

Counselor Laura: At least old age is making you more self-aware.

Tony Potts: No. That would be Pepper. She tells me I always say things without thinking them through. She's worried about Morgan picking up my unhealthy habits.

Counselor Laura: I think Leo convinced Friday that for the good of mankind, you and Steve needed to be on speaking terms. Although she may have eventually went full Emma.

Counselor Laura: Wait, you sent drunk text messages to Steve?

Tony Potts: I wrote them, I never actually sent any of them. I still write them sometimes, although now I'm stone-cold sober.

Counselor Laura: I'm not even surprised. I'm thankful for Friday's intervention. Sometimes you need all the help you can get.

Tony Potts: Seriously, how do you know me so well or rather your Stark so well?

Counselor Laura: I did a stint as Tony sobriety coach post-Siberia incident. We also lived at the tower for a few months to stay off Ross' radar. I'm still his AA sponsor. 22 months and going strong. I'm really proud of him.

Tony Potts: I am at 41 months sober. There's been some stops and starts, but I don't want to be a repeat of Howard for Morgan.

Counselor Laura: That's really good. I always felt guilty because I spent a good portion of Cody's early childhood in and out of rehab.

Tony Potts: I'm just going to assume that you don't type your kids' names in these messages. I am surprised you are so close to other me. I never actually talked to you again after you so graciously allowed us to hide in your house that time I made murder bots. I think I sent you a chocolate gift basket, though.

Counselor Laura: You did, and it made the last month of pregnancy tolerable. You have excellent choice in chocolate and apology presents. Although, I prefer when you deliver them in person. So you didn't show up at the farmhouse crying and asking for forgiveness?

Tony Potts: Other Tony did that?

Counselor Laura: You even arranged for us to see Clint on your private island. That's part of the reason why I stayed clean and why I agreed to help you. You're a good person under the suits and bravado.

Tony Potts: I considered it, but didn't. I didn't think you would want to see me after I caused your or rather her husband to go on the run.

Counselor Laura: I think Friday may have talked you into that too because she was working with Leo to fix things. At the same time, I think I needed a friend as much as you did back then, and that's why we bonded. My Tony did, anyway. We did become friends, and I think our friendship helped him work through a lot of his other issues. This included mending fences with his Steve, staying sober, and getting diagnosed correctly.

Counselor Laura: Have you been diagnosed with bipolar disorder?

Tony Potts: Not until after Morgan was born, because I'm afraid of becoming Howard, I finally started therapy again. I should've after we lost, but I didn't. I'm glad the other me got treatment sooner.

Tony Potts: Instead of going to you, I went to Pepper, and well at least we got back together, and we have Morgan, and it's okay.

Tony Potts: Okay, and she dumped the asshole. Turns out, he was fucking around with someone else. Please tell me that Pepper did not marry that guy in the other timeline.

Counselor Laura: No, she dumped him after she walked in on him, fucking around with some young adult movie starlet. I can't even remember which one. Her and Happy have been dancing around each other for the last year and ½.

Tony Potts: Happy is a much better choice. Although here, he was trying to start something with Peter's Aunt May before they were both dusted.

Counselor Laura: May Parker-Riley is dating one of Peter's professors. Also, is everything really okay? Because it doesn't feel like it is. You've lost a lot of people.

Tony Potts: I don't know. You really do know me too well.

Counselor Laura: Not you, my Tony. I don't know what happened here completely. No one wants to tell me because I may have passed out when I found out my children are dead here.

Tony Potts: Understandable.

Counselor Laura: I want to know what went wrong, so when I do get back home, I can make sure my children never die.

Tony Potts: What about you?

Counselor Laura: I don't care about me. I just need my children to survive.

Tony Potts: Spoken like a real parent.

Counselor Laura: Steve just came in.

Counselor Laura: Also, apparently, he's in charge of looking through my cell phone, so can you please delete this conversation.

Tony Potts: Already done. Do you want me to lock him out?

Counselor Laura: Not yet.

To be continued